WHEN Hull Seahawks step out on the ice to host Bristol Pitbulls on Sunday it will be a welcome return to familiar surroundings for head coach Matty Davies and his players.

And they will be hoping for a repeat of the success they enjoyed the last time they were at Hull Ice Arena when they came from two goals down to beat Leeds Knights 3-2 back on November 16.

It is on home ice where the Seahawks have enjoyed greatest success this season. They may have lost their first two home outings but they have won six out of seven since, the kind of form Davies knows his team will have to maintain if they are to stand any chance of closing the gap on NIHL National’s leading teams.

“For me, this league is about first things first – you’ve got to look after playing at home and if you can win the majority of your home games, then you’ve got a good chance of being one of the top teams,” said Davies. “

“If you can do that, then you’ve got to go to difficult places and win – we’ve done that here and there, but not often enough.”

It’s been a mixed bag for Hull on the road this season, mixing some impressive wins at the likes of Milton Keynes Lightning and Telford Tigers, with heavy losses at Sheffield Steeldogs and Sunday’s visitors’ Bristol.

The Steeldogs will spend the weekend on the road as they look to get back to winning ways after last week’s overtime loss at home to Romford Raiders.

First they head to Milton Keynes Lightning, looking to replicate the shoot-out win they enjoyed at the start of the month, before paying a visit to Telford Tigers.